The development pressure we see in southeast Alamance follows the trends we see across the state of farmland loss. When these heritage farms go up for sale, developers are regularly the only party able to access the capital to purchase them outright. To recoup their spending, developers extract the most from the value of the land by chopping it up and developing it as a subdivision. Once land moves out of farm use, it does not return. Farms are critical to our local economies, and to our survival. No farms = no food. 

Alamance County Commissioners have said that for every $1 the county can bring in from property taxes in these proposed subdivisions, they have to spend $1.46. At that rate, we estimate the county would lose roughly 3 million per year in operating costs not covered by tax income. That doesn't even include the capital required to build the new facilities, like schools, that this dramatic increase in residences would require. The Commissioners have said that if the Morrow Mill and Austin Quarter developments were built, they would need a new elementary school, middle school, and high school. 

One of the features of the rural farmlands is how little light pollution there is. This is a wonderful feature for the residents of rural areas, as many of us find great enjoyment in being able to see the stars so clearly. It's also critical for creatures critical to our ecosystems, such as fireflies and migrating bird species. Subdivisions like the ones proposed would bring a tremendous increase in the amount of continuous outdoor lighting, which could irreparably damage outcomes for the wildlife that rely on nighttime being dark. 

Beyond the risks associated with increased nighttime lighting, clear-cutting forests and farmland to build subdivisions is completely disruptive to all the native wildlife. Currently, on the properties in question, there is ample room for innumerable species to make homes, hunt, play, and procreate. Development would disrupt and destroy these habitats, forcing animals to move into their neighbor's territory and increase pressure on remaining local farmers. When an acre of forest is cut down, that's one less acre available for a fox to hunt in. The next nearest spot to hunt may include the neighboring farm's chickens. When a raccoon has no hollow trees available for nesting in, the attic of the old house down the road seems like a pretty good option. 

To take over these small remaining pockets of wildlands is to guarantee critical damage to ecosystems and wildlife populations, and increase the amount of interaction between wild animals and humans, which is unsafe for both parties. 

The proposed developments are in areas with no public water infrastructure. To provide water to the high number of households, the subdivisions would need commercial wells. These go much deeper than the private wells everyone else in the area has, and can pump water out of the ground at a much faster rate. Imagine you're drinking through a straw dipped halfway into a cup of water, and somebody with a big smoothie straw starts drinking from the same cup but pushes their straw to the bottom. Your straw, half as deep, is going to draw air while their big straw is still slurping water. 

Like with public water service, there is also no public sewer service in this rural part of the county. The wastewater systems for the proposed developments would be operated by private companies hired by the HOAs of the subdivisions, and could end up failing on a detrimental scale. They would be responsible for managing an unbelievable volume of waste, and doing so amidst networks of streams that feed Cane Creek which feeds the Haw River. These waterways seep what they carry into our groundwater, and flow from property to property for miles, and support an incredible amount of life and recreation. Contamination is not easily undone. 

Beyond the risk that wastewater poses, the tremendous increase in impervious surface brought by these proposed developments would also dramatically increase the likelihood of these waterways flooding. We already know the risks of this, remembering the devastation we saw last summer from Tropical Storm Chantal. Events like that are only becoming more commonplace, and the county and community do not have the budget to handle the damage being multiplied by adding so much impervious surface. Well-planted land is best able to absorb the downpours from these dramatic storms, and slows down the precipitation so that it doesn't all run into creeks and rivers faster than the waterways can handle it. 

One of the most effective ways to protect these things we care about is for the Alamance County Commissioners to enact thoughful, common-sense land use regulations (typically in the form of zoning or amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance). These laws can dictate where different types of development can be built, and how they have to go about it. For example, new rules can increase minimum lot sizes in certain areas, prohibit the drilling of commercial wells, and require different processes for proposals to achieve approval. Without comprehensive changes at the county level, citizens will continue facing threats from unwise development every time a large tract is put up for sale. Learn more about advocating to the commissioners here. The decision-makers at the county need the legal framework new regulations could provide in order to deny irresponsible proposals from developers.